Thursday, March 5, 2015

I was scrolling through pinterest a while back and I came across this wonderful album made from the creative mind behind Stephanie Makes, and I fell head over heals in love. I've admired scrapbooks before, but there was something about this one that really spoke to me. It was the perfect mix of eclectic, artsy, and jam packed full of love, and it was the fire I needed to start my own little book.
I think the thing that struck me the most about Stephanie's album was how tiny it was. I looked at it and thought "I could do that! Heck, I could FINISH that!" So I bought my album from Amazonand my page protectors from the A Beautiful Mess shop, and got to work. It was a labor of love, with many trials and errors, but I finally finished, and am so PUMPED to show you the completed project.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

We drove to Colorado for our honeymoon, and it was awesome. I'm not going to do a day by day description, because honestly half of it was driving, but I will tell you what some of our favorite parts were!

We went to this beautiful park right after we got into Manito Springs. The buildings were awesome, and I loved that they let you go inside them and get a real good look at everything. It costs a bit of money (about $20 for two adults), but it was worth the price. It's family friendly, but its also a really awesome date. And a ton of really great photo ops!

We absolutely LOVED the cottage we stayed in. The campground was great, with a playground and a pool for kids. It also had a separate area with chairs, a tree swing, and even a mini waterfall right outside the cottage we stayed in. It was so relaxing. And the cottage itself was spacious and clean, and very comfortable. It was within walking distance of a whole bunch of shops, and it was an easy drive to get to many attractions. We only stayed for a few days, but I could easily see us spending a week there.

Garden of the Gods was by far the most beautiful place we went to. Great hiking trails, seriously breathtaking views, and it was free! Seriously, if you only go to one attraction while you're in Colorado Springs, this is the place to go.

Adam and I can't resist good sushi, so when we saw the sign for a restaurant proclaiming all you can eat sushi lunches, we had to take advantage of the offer. Totally worth it. The atmosphere there was really casual, and the food was REALLY good.

Okay, so this railway experience was really beautiful. And the view from the top was breathtaking. But my body had finally let the stress of the wedding catch up to it, so by the end of the day I was a sniffly mess. And combining not being able to breath with thin air wasn't one of our best ideas. That being said, I'm very glad we went. It was a great experience, and I hope I can do it again one day when I'm not sick.

One of Adam's favorite drinks is a cold Coors, so as soon as we decided we were going to go to Colorado we knew this was going to be on the list of things to do. The wait to get into the tour was long (we had to stand there for at least an hour), but it was at least in the shade. Once we got inside there was a ridiculous photo op (which yes, we totally bought a copy of) and then the tour. It took you through the history of the company, and then the brewing process itself. At the end they gave us a small taste of very fresh beer, and I swear it was the best beer I've ever tasted. And then they took us to a bar, and you got up to three free beers.

I had been really pumped to see the Maze Runner for months, so when we got into Denver we searched for a theater and just happened to find the Cinebarre. It turned out to be one of the best parts of our trip! It had a "cult classic" theme, with all of those awesome large posters. And then the theaters all had tables and menus, so you could drink and eat while watching your movie.

Dave and Buster's was another place we planned to go from the very beginning. We almost didn't, because finding a hotel was ridiculously difficult, but eventually we just made reservations for somewhere further away over the phone and spent a few hours playing at the arcade. Dave and Busters is a bar/arcade with a great amount of games and some really awesome food. To be honest, I'm really just there for the skeeball, but Adam loves collecting tickets and playing games from when he was a kid. This time we got enough tickets to get a couple of things!

And I don't have a link for this last part, because it's sadly no longer there. When we were driving through Kansas, we saw a sign for a museum auction. Since the whole week had a kind of road trip feel, I convinced Adam to stop so we could check it out. I'm so glad that we did. The museum turned out to be the home of a man who loved collecting things. We were able to see the things for sale, but the really great part was when we explored the inside of the house. There were so many awesome things! So I guess this is just a reminder to go off the beaten path, drive on some dirt roads, and stop at colorful houses.